


Front row seat

by strawberriesandtophats



Category: Tatort
Genre: Established Relationship, Ice Cream Parlors, Idiots in Love, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22533922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberriesandtophats/pseuds/strawberriesandtophats
Summary: Behind it all was the desire to be loved, not despite his flaws but as he was.
Relationships: Karl-Friedrich Boerne/Frank Thiel
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Front row seat

Boerne looked like a cat that had found a bowl of cream on the counter unexpectedly, smiling at Thiel as if there was no way that anything in life could ever go wrong. The fact that they both solved murders together for the last seventeen years appeared to be far away from Boerne’s mind as he parked himself beside Thiel on the bench outside the ice-cream parlor. Today there would be no carving bodies open, no murderers to catch.

It was Saturday. Thiel had woken up in Boerne’s absurdly comfortable bed, with Boerne’s arm slung around his middle and the sun shining through the curtains.

The summer weather had begun to cool, even if the trees stayed green and vibrant. They’d spent a leisurely morning walking through the park together after breakfast, Boerne congratulating himself for remembering to put on sunscreen even if they had not been planning on going swimming. That had not stopped Boerne from stripping on the spot when he saw the tube of sunscreen in the bathroom cupboard when they’d been shaving. And then insisting on applying sunscreen to the back of Thiel’s neck after Thiel had dutifully put some on his face. Thiel had let him after grumbling a bit, listening to Boerne warnings and stories about burning in the sun.

Watching Boerne walking around the apartment only in his boxer shorts and talking about brunch spots and champagne should have been seductive, but instead Boerne was just grinning in a silly manner while rhapsodizing about good jam and flapping his hands to try to make the sunscreen dry faster.

Thiel had not commented that Boerne did not really need to put sunscreen on everywhere, as he’d at most roll up his sleeves if it got too hot. Instead he finished shaving and got dressed.

On days like this, Thiel did not wonder why Boerne chose, again and again, to come home with him instead of finding himself some sophisticated, elegant and educated lady. He’d seen all the flaws and messes that the man had made, the arrogance and desire to impress and the horrible stubbornness that had kept him running at full speed towards his goals for years.

Behind it all was the desire to be loved, not despite his flaws but as he was.

And Boerne was still around and showing up at Thiel’s door with a bottle of wine and wearing an apron. Despite the full-blown arguments, silences and everyday disagreements. And perhaps because of them. Fighting with people that you loved was painful, but it was also built on the fact that you hoped that they loved you enough to always try to reconcile.

It had been a slow and steady progress towards what they had now. Neither of them was going anywhere.

On days like this, Boerne grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him out of the house made Thiel feel as steady as a boulder.

Thiel put an arm around Boerne’s shoulders as Boerne made himself comfortable on the bench, handing over a paper cup with a generous scoop of Italian gelato. The tiny spoon was stuck in the scoop, alongside a tiny rainbow paper umbrella.

Perhaps it was a treat that some might say that men of their age should not enjoy, but actively stay away from. After all, it was not exactly a healthy one.

Thiel glanced at Boerne, waiting for a speech about making healthy choices. But Boerne was looking at flowers in the window boxes and the faint clouds in the sky, one hand resting on the horrendously expensive sunglasses that he’d put on top of his head.

“This is good for the soul,” Boerne said, adjusting his grip on the waffle cone. He closed his eyes, clearly enjoying the warm breeze ruffling his hair. Having come home from the hairdressers yesterday, with his hair freshly dyed and cut, Boerne had grabbed Thiel and kissed him as if they were reckless teenagers instead of decidedly middle-aged men.

So, Thiel kept his hand around Boerne’s shoulders and was rewarded with a smile that deepened the lines around Boerne’s eyes. At that moment Boerne launched into a speech about the history of ice-cream, waving his spoon around for emphasis as the ice-cream melted.

Thiel stuck his own spoon into Boerne’s ice-cream, saving the ice-cream from melting onto Boerne’s fingers or ending up as a mess on the concrete. He stuck the spoon inside Boerne’s already open mouth, grinning at the flash of outrage and then thoughtfulness that crossed Boerne’s face.

“The pistachio one is very good,” Boerne informed him, licking the ice-cream. “I can’t believe that you didn’t get some.”

“I like the chocolate one,” Thiel replied, noting that Boerne was leaning into his touch and eyeing his ice-cream.

Then, swiftly and suddenly, Boerne slid his spoon over Thiel’s chocolate ice-cream scoop in such a way to steal the maximum amount of ice-cream that the tiny spoon would allow. On it was a tiny mountain.

“You’ve got good taste,” Boerne said, after having stuck the spoon in his mouth and made a content sound at the back of his throat. “When it comes to ice-cream flavors. And in men, of course.”

“You think so?” Thiel asked, defiantly eating the rest of his almost melted ice-cream too fast and narrowly avoiding getting brain freeze. At least Boerne would not steal any more of it.

“And I’m right,” Boerne said, gesturing at him with his spoon, as if challenging him to counter such an impressive argument. And then when Thiel only sighed, Boerne leaned back on the bench so that he was almost in Thiel’s lap and dabbed delicately at his lips with his napkin. He picked up the rainbow umbrella, twirling it.

For a split second, Thiel thought that Boerne was going to lean in and steal a kiss in broad daylight. But instead Boerne flashed him a charming smile and kept eating his ice-cream. Later, Boerne would undoubtedly grab his wrist and pull him into his apartment, where they’d have a very pleasant afternoon.

But for now, they could stay there in the sunshine, enjoying each other’s company.


End file.
